Coffee can or the like



Aug. 17,1926. v 1,596,638

G. H. TURPEL ET AL COFFEE CAN OR THE LIKE Filed Oct. 9, 1924 HNVENTOR 650. H TURPEL Patented Aug. 17, 1926.

Gm! I. TUB-PHD, OI SEATTLE,

AND ALBERT 0. JOHNSON, OI BIOHIOND BEOH,

WASHINGTON.

COFFEE CAN OR THE LIKE.

Application med October 9, 1924. serial No. 742,807.

This invention relates to improvements in coffee cans, or the like, and more articularly to cans in which it is inten ed that the contents bevacuum packed; it belng the principal object of this invention to provide a can, or container having the top or end wall equi ped with a sealed opening through w ich the contents may be emptied from the can and which has a slide valve operable to close the said openin as a means for protecting the contents of t e can after the seal has been removed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container of the above character hav-j 18 ing an openin in its end wall as above stated, with a do valve disposed wlthm the can and movable from and over said opening by means of a strip of metal that is attached to the valve and which extends through a slot in the end wall with its outer end covered b the sealing plate and adapted to be expose only by t e removal of said seal.

Other objects of the invention reside in l the various details of construction and combination of parts embodied in the invention as will hereinafter be described.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, we have provided the imroved details of construction, the preerred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a can equipped with a valve discharge opening in $5 accordance with details of the present invention, showing the valve partly open and contents being poured from the can.

Figure 2 is a sectional detail view illustrating the disposition of the slide valve below the sealed opening in the can top, the means for'supporting the slide and means whereby it is moved between open and closed positions.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the top or end of the can showing the seal applied over the opening.

Figure 4 is a view showing the seal partly removed.

Figure '5 is a similar view with the seal removed from the opening and the valve partly opened.

Figure 6 is a perspective view in which a part of the can wall is broken away for the purpose of showing the under side of the cover and plate attached thereto for slldably supporting the valve.

Fi ure 7 is aperspective view illustrating an a ternativemethod of supporting the slide valve.

Referring more in detail to the several views of the drawings 1 desi ates what may be a can or container 0 that character in which coffee, or the like, is packed for sale; the can here shown being of cylindrical form and having a top, or end wall 2 sealed to thebody in an air tight connection. Formed in the top wall adjacent to the edge or periphery of the can is an opening 4 through which the contents of the can may be poured, as illustrated in Figure 1; the opening preferably being substantially of triangular outline and extending ina point toward the center I of the top.

Located beneath the opening 4 for slidable movement fromand across the same in the radial direction of the top, is a valve plate 5 seuipported by means of plate 6 that 1s solder or otherwise secured at its ends to the under side of the top and which provides a space between its central portion and the under side of the top within which the valve plate may slide; the valve is held securely and closely against the under side of the top and effectively closes the opening.

The means provided for shiftin the valve plate 5 between open and close positions consists of a thin flexible metal strip 7 having one end attached to the to face of the valve near the outer edge of t e latter, by means of spot welding or soldering as indicated at 8 1n Figure 5, and having its opposite end portion extended through a slot 9' in the can top wall located in a radial line between the center of the to and the nearest point of the opening 4. efore the sealing plate, presently described, has been removed from over the opening, the exposed end of the strip 7 is turned down flat against the top wall, as shown in Figure 4, but after the seal has been removed, it may be turned up, as in Figure 5, and the valve operated between open and closed ositions thereby.

As was previously stated: the resent construction is intended to be use in connection with cans or containers in which coflee, or the like, is vacuum packed, and in order to make the cans suitable for this method of over the opening 4 and have exten ed it to cover the slot '9 and back turned end of the strip 7. This sealinglplate is afiixed to the can to in an air tig t 'oint by means of a soft solder, or the like. t is tapered toward the center of the can to a narrow end portion 11 that is left loose and b means of which the plate may be pulled oose touncover the opening. i

In Fi re 7 we have disclosed a slightly modified donstruction in which the opening 4 is of rectangular form and the metal that is stamped from the top in forming the opening isturned outwardly and then inwardly along opposite ed es of the opening to form guides 12 in whic the valve plate 5 1s sl1d ably supported- This construction el1m1- nates the use of the plate 6 as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings.

In assemblin the parts of the can, the top is first provlded with the openi 4 and slot 9, the plate 6 attached to the un er side of the top and valve plate placed in position to cover the openin The strip 7 is then projected through t e slot 9, its inner end attached to the valve plate and its outer end turned down against the top. The sealing open position thereby.

While we have described and illustrated this construction in connection with coffee cans, it is not intended that it be limited only to that particular use as it is readily apparent that such construction is applicable to various kinds of cans or containers in which the contents may or may not be vacuum and a slot adjacent said 0 ening, a valve supporting plate secured to t e inside of said wall, a valve plate slidabl supported by said supporting plate and a apted for movement from and across the said opening, a flexible strip attached to the valve plate and extended t rough said slot b 1 means of which said valve plate may be 3 ifted and a sealing; plate overlying the opening, slot and end of said strip and removably sealed in-an air tight joint to the container wall.

2. As an article of manufacture, a can cover having a discharge opening near its periphery and a slot adjacent said 0 ening, a valve supporting plate secured to t e under side of said cover, a valve plate slida-bly supported thereby for movement from and across the said opening, a flexible metal strip attached at one end to the valve and havin its other end projected throughsaid slot and turned down against the said cover, and a plate removably sealed to-the top of the cover to overlie said opening and slot and having a detached end portion by means of which the plate may be pulled loose from the top.

Signed at Seattle, King County, Washington, this 2nd day of October, 1924.

GEORGE] H. TURPEL. ALBERT o JOHNSON. 

